Bitcoin (BTC) Maintains $81K Level While Ethereum Gains and NEAR Protocol Surges

Key Highlights

• Bitcoin maintained its position above $81,000 following sustained recovery momentum during Asian market hours.
• NEAR Protocol surged approximately 23% driven by heightened Zcash swap volume via NEAR Intents platform.
• U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs closed the week with $6.2 million in net positive flows following a robust $433 million influx on Friday.
• Fidelity’s Bitcoin ETF led Friday’s activity with $310.7 million in contributions.
• Ethereum ETFs experienced $140 million in weekly redemptions, breaking a four-week positive flow pattern.

Bitcoin maintained its position above the $81,000 threshold on Monday as digital asset markets sustained their recovery trajectory alongside strengthening Asian equity indices.

The leading cryptocurrency posted gains of less than 1% across a 24-hour period, building on upward momentum that emerged following U.S. regulatory approval for certain onchain trading of tokenized equity instruments.

Market analysts also identified short position liquidations as a contributing factor to Bitcoin’s weekend price action.

BTC Maintains Position Above $81,000 Mark

Bitcoin exchanged hands just above $81,000 throughout Asian trading sessions as market participants responded to improved risk appetite spanning global financial markets.

Asian stock markets rallied after U.S. representatives characterized trade negotiations with China as constructive in advance of a scheduled summit between President Donald Trump and President Xi Jinping.

U.S. equity index futures also climbed higher, with Nasdaq 100 contracts demonstrating superior performance relative to S&P 500 futures.

Brent crude declined approximately 2% to settle just above $101 per barrel, representing the fourth consecutive session of losses.

Reducing oil valuations provided some relief regarding inflation pressures, while Treasury futures simultaneously advanced.

BTSE Chief Operating Officer Jeff Mei attributed Bitcoin’s weekend appreciation to the SEC’s tokenized stock decision combined with forced short covering.

Market focus now shifts to upcoming remarks from Federal Reserve policymakers in advance of the central bank’s scheduled late-October policy meeting.

NEAR Protocol Rallies on Cross-Chain Swap Volume

NEAR Protocol emerged as one of the top-performing major digital assets, climbing approximately 23% to reach levels just above $4.

The price advancement coincided with expanding usage of NEAR Intents, a cross-chain solution enabling users to exchange assets across disparate blockchain networks without manually bridging funds between platforms.

Digital wallet providers including ZODL and Vizor have incorporated the functionality to facilitate Zcash swap capabilities.

Daily Zcash transaction volume processed through NEAR Intents expanded roughly sixfold over the preceding seven-day period.

Zcash itself appreciated approximately 3% to trade above $1,500.

BNB climbed around 2% to approach $777, while Ether and Hyperliquid similarly posted 2% advances.

XRP, Dogecoin, Solana and Tron registered more modest gains of approximately 1% or below.

Bitcoin ETF Inflows Rebound Following Friday Surge

U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs concluded the previous week with $6.2 million in cumulative net inflows.

The weekly aggregate was salvaged by $433 million in inflows recorded on Friday, representing the strongest single-day performance since September 3.

Fidelity’s Bitcoin ETF contributed $310.7 million to Friday’s aggregate, while BlackRock’s product captured $108.4 million.

Earlier weekly sessions witnessed substantial redemptions, including $450.3 million on Tuesday and $296 million on Wednesday.

Bitcoin ETFs continue showing approximately $1.45 billion in negative net flows year-to-date, though aggregate inflows since product launches total $55.16 billion.

Ethereum ETFs demonstrated contrasting dynamics.

These investment vehicles registered roughly $140 million in weekly net outflows, terminating four successive weeks of positive flows that had accumulated a combined $1.94 billion.

Bitcoin commences the trading week above $81,000 as market participants track ETF demand dynamics, Federal Reserve policy commentary and whether strength across NEAR and alternative cryptocurrencies persists.